Iran, EU agree on SPV system: Zarif

By Ahmet Dursun

ANKARA (AA) – Iran and the EU have reached an agreement on the special purpose vehicle (SPV) system, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Wednesday.

The SPV is developed as a financial conversion mechanism not included by U.S. sanctions.

“Given that the Americans are trying to prevent the plan and development as soon as they learn about, Europeans want to pursue this step in order to achieve it in a confidential manner," Zarif said in statements cited by the official IRNA news agency following a cabinet meeting.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have mounted since May, when U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the 2015 agreement.

In August, the U.S. re-imposed a first round of sanctions that mainly targeted Iran’s banking sector.

A second phase of sanctions -- targeting Iran’s energy sector -- came into effect on Nov. 5, although Washington granted a 180-day reprieve to the eight largest buyers of Iranian oil, including Turkey.